KATY, Texas — The craziest day of Moro Ojomo’s whirlwind month had to be the ice day. The city of Houston’s two-day Icepocalype meant schools were closed on that frigid Wednesday in mid-January, so Ojomo stayed home and witnessed eight-plus hours of passionate recruiting pitches. From noon until nearly 9 p.m., he recalls coaches from Texas, Oregon, Miami and Tennessee stopping by the house to try to win over the suddenly prized defensive lineman.

And there were many more January days just like it, his frantic recruitment becoming its own little force majeure. Once coaches got their eyes on his senior tape, they all came flooding in. The whole process, he says, just got so relentless.

“Coaches everywhere,” Ojomo told The Athletic. “Coaches at the house, coaches at the school, coaches blowing up my phone.”

But he was worth the effort. Ojomo could end up being one of the great steals of the 2018 class, a freaky talent at a premium position whose...